Lasting machine



Oct. 16, 1934. E. l. LA `CHAPFLLE LASTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 26, 1954 42h17 MKM.

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Oct. 16, 1934. E, LA CHAPELLE I 1,977,132

LASTING MACHNE Filed' April 2e, 1934 2 Sheets-Shee:l 2

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Patented Oct. 16, 1934 irse STATES LASTING MACHINE Euclid I. La Chapelle, Brockton, Mass. Application April 26, 1934, Serial No. 722,435

1 Claim.

My present. invention relates to lasting machines and more particularly to lasting machines of the pulling Aover type adapted to support a last in inverted position and is directed to a novel 5 arrangement for movement of the lasting means with the last into a substantially reversed position.

. The Alasting machine herein shown embodying my invention is intended -for use upon all kinds l and types of boots and shoes, such'as of the welt,

McKay, turn and cement process types.

In the performance of that step of lasting termed pulling over by the present day pulling over machinery, the ordinary hand pulling over l method is followed, so that the initial step involves a pulling movement upon the extreme toeend of the shoe upper to strain and draft the upper lengthwise of the -last fromthe heel-end to the toe-end; and the upper is next pulled at the sides of its fcrepart, simultaneously at and back of the tip-line, to thereby set the vamp of the upper on top of the forepartof the last, in thehollow back of the toe, against the toe--end strain forcing theupper from the top o f the last.

This ordinary method of pulling over involves much uneven and excessive strain upon the vamp and the lining, so that once the lasty has been removed'from Vthe shoeVthe upper shows the disadvantageous effect of such overstrain and notably so at vthe corners of the toe. Moreoverfthe vamp or the lining is oftentimes torn atthe forepart when medium orflow grade shoes are being thus pulled over; and the counter is not as firmly set on the heel of the last as it should be.

As shown, I, preferably, have incorporated my invention in an old type of lasting machine having a plurality of co-operating lasting means, some of which being adapted to engage the shoe upper at its heel portion to firmly compress and V thereby set the counter on the heel of the last .fand some being adapted to engage the forepart of the shoe upper on top vof the last, back of the toe, to strain and draft the upper lengthwise of the last from the heel to the toe. Thus the initial step, and the most important part of the pulling over operation, is performed in a farbetter mannerthan by the present day pulling over machinery; and the sides of the upper may be easily pulled and fastened onto the bottom of the last by'hand for the completion of the pulling over operation without liability of damage to the upper or its lining.

After the performance of the initial part of the pulling over operation by a machine supporting a last in inverted position, such as herein shown,

good practice dictates that the operator inspect the upper in Vorder to determine, if need be, the proper positioning of the throat of the Vamp relatively to the toe of the last or the proper positioningoi the Vamp relatively to the sides of 6U the last, which positioning must take place at the subsequent step of pulling over and tacking the sides of the vamp onto the bottom of the last for the completion of the pulling over operation.

My invention has for one objective, in a lasting machine adapted to support av last in inverted positionland adapted to perform the initial part of the pulling over operation by straining the upper lengthwise of the last from the heel to the toe, the arrangementy for movement of the lasting means with the last into` a substantially reversed position, to the end that the shoe upper Jmay be readily brought to view for inspection by the operator after the performance of the initial part of the pulling over operation.

As shown in the drawings:

Figure 1 isa perspective view of a lasting machine supporting a last in inverted position and embodying my invention, shown in open position, in Yreadiness ,for operation; 80

Figure 2 is av side elevation of the head of the machine in'Fig. 1, shown in close position, after its operation; Y

Figure 3 is a Aside elevation of the said machine with the lasting means moved, with the invertedlast, into a substantially reversed position bringing the top of the shoe upper to view;

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the said machine with the lasting means broken off;

' Figure 5 is a plan detailview taken on dotted 90 line 5--5 Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a detail view of the hold-down and heel-band supporting post, to be hereinafter further referred to; l

Figur-e l is a sectional detail view of the locking means for setting the shoe upper straining means to engage the shoe upper in accordance with the size of the last in the machine, taken on dottedline 7,-7 Fig. 2;

Figure 8 is a section'aldetail view, taken on 100 dotted line 8--8 Fig.`2;

Figure 9 is a sectional View of the motive power actuating means also shown in Fig. l; and

Figures` 10 and V11 are detail plan views of the shoe after the completion of the pulling over and toe lasting operations to be hereinafter further referred to.'

Referring further to the drawings:

The machine has a base 1, which supports a vertical column 2, upon the upper end of which 110 is provided a table 3, rotatably mounted in the column 2 by means of the extension 4. The table 3 has the upward extension 5, which forms guiding means for the heel-post slide 6. A plate 7 is secured to the extension 5 and protrudes over the arms of the slide 6, for enclosing the said slide, and upward extending ears 8 are provided for pivotally supporting the last engaging means 9. The forward end of the extension 5 is recessed, as at l0, Fig. 4, to receive the rack engaging pinion l1, which is secured to the shaft 12, the Said shaft being supported by the extension 5, and being extended at each side thereof to receive the pinions 13, which engage the teeth 14, on the upper face of the slide 6. The pinion 1l is actuated by the downward movement of the rackbar 15, to carry the slide 6 rearwardly to open the machine and thereby set the lasting means for operativeness, as shown in Fig. l. The forward ends of the slide 6 are slightly reduced in size and pass through the bracket 16, which is supported by the table 3, the said reduced portions 6 extend forwardly of the said bracket 16, and have secured at their forward ends the plate 17, and compression springs 18 are provided and are mounted on the extension 6 between the bracket 16 and the plate 17, for exerting at all times a forward pressure tending to force the slide 6 forwardly to a closed position of the machine.

The last engaging means 9 consist of the last supporting last-pin 19, which is mounted upon the upper end of the arm 20, the lower end of which ispivoted at 21, to the upper portion 22, of the crank-arm 23. The lower arm 24, of the crank-arm 23, is attached to a spring 25, by the rod 26, to exert a forward pressure upon the last supporting pin 19, to thereby force the last A, carrying the shoe upper B, against the straining means 27, which means is adapted to frictionally engage the shoe upper, and at the rear portion of its forepart, as shown in Fig. 1, preparatory to the performance of the initial part of the pulling over operation by the machine. Thevsaid shoe upper straining means 27, consists of the shoe upper engaging portion 28 (which is, preferably, of sole leather for mens shoes and of rubber for womens shoes), which is mounted upon the upper end of the arm 29, and the said arm is pivoted at 30, to a shorter arm 31, which is pivoted at 32, to a slide-block 33, the said pivot 32 being at right angles to the pivot 30. The said slide-block 33 is mounted upon the arm 34, eX- tending forwardly from the extension 5, and is adapted to be held in any predetermined position thereon by the locking screw 35, for bringing about proper engagement of the shoe upper by the straining means, in accordance with various sizes of lasts. The arm 34 carries the handle 36 by which the head of the machinemay be rotated by the operator when performing the final steps of the pulling over operation in pulling and fastening the sides of the shoe upper onto the bottom of the last. The heel-band 37, which is adapted to compress the upper and the counter, is supported in the upper end'of the block 38, the said block also carrying the hold-down 39, which consists of a flat spring slidably mounted in the upper end of the block 38, and which is adapted to be manually positioned upon the bottom of the last preparatory to the actuation of heel-end to the toe-end in co-operation with the straining means 27, during the actuation of the machine. The block 38 is provided with a pin 40 to hold the same in mounted position for oscillating movement in a hole in the upper end of the arm 41, the extent of oscillation being limited by the screw 42, which also serves to securely hold the said block from upward movement, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The lower end of the said arm 41 is pivoted at 43, to the upper end of the post 44, the said post being secured to the rear end of the slide 6, by the bolts 45. The said arm 4l is held in a relatively vertical normal operative position with the post 44, by the locking-bar 46, which engages a notch 4l', in the ear of the lever 41, and notches 47', in the ears 47, of the post 44. The said locking-bar is attached to the lower end of the lever 48, pivoted to the arm 41, at 49, and is held in engaging position by the compression spring 50. The operator bypressing the upper end 48', of the lever 48, toward the arm 4l, moves the locking-bar 46, out of engagement with the notches 4l and 47', which allows him to then freely oscillate the lever 41 for inspection of the upper on the last. For returning the lever 41, after the reversed movement of the lasting means with the last, the springs 51, are provided, which causes automatic locking of the lever 41, with the locking-bar 46, as best shown in Fig. 6. As shown, in oscillating the arm 41, all the lasting means are simultaneously oscillated by being all connected by the bar 52, which is loosely pivoted by the pin 53, in the hole 54 of the arm 4l. The said bar extends forwardly through a hole 20' in the arm 20, and through a sleeve 55, which is pivoted at 56, in a hole 29' in the arm 29. An adjustable block 57 is slidably mounted upon the said bar 52, and is provided with a flat spring 58, the downward end of which engages the notches 52', wherever set by the operator, so that bythe closing movement of the machine under the influence of the springs 18, the said block 57 is moved forwardly and engages the sleeve 55, and'thus moves the shoe upper straining means 27 forwardly to strain the upper lengthwise ofthe last to a predetermined extent, while the hold-down 39 is being forced forwardly on the bottom of the last under the influence of the forward movement of the post 44 to thereby force and hold the upper and the seam at the throat of the vamp down on the last. By adjustment of the block 57 on the bar 52, lengths of tips are thereby predetermined and all the tips are of uniform length in any given case of shoes, as the edge face of the tip rests against the front edge face of the straining means at the completion of the machinel operation. Moreover, plain toe Vamps (Vamps having no tips) may be pulled all uniform fromtheir throats to their toe-ends by nicking, at the time of cutting Vamps,

the edge of each vamp at the tip line, so that the operator, after'the operation of the machine, may be able to determine the position of the nicks relatively to the straining means and then, if need be, may either re-pull the vamp at the toeend or release the vamp at the toe-end to have the nicks come into alignment with the straining means. A

More or lessstraining movement is imparted to the shoe upper straining means by the imparted to the shoe upper straining means by the predeterminedposition of the block 57 on the bar 52, and also by adjustment of the limiting screw 34', positioned over the plate 7. The said limiting screw 24 is to positively limit the extent yso of the straining movement of the straining means l To open the machine against the' pressure of the Springs 18, the rack-bar 15.7extends downwardly and .is secured to va frame 59, which is slidably mounted on the vertical column .2; VThev said frame 59 has an outward extension60, which is adapted to be moved byV rotationfof the head of the machine into the path of the movement of a motive-power-actuated slide 61, which reciprocates in the vertical way 62. The said slide 61, when inoperative, is held upwardly out of the path of the extension 60 by theweight, on the clutch member 66, and a short arm 63, pivoted at its inner side connects it to an arm 64 upon the shaft 65. The said shaft 65 carries the ordinary motive-poweractuatedcone-clutch 66, which is operated by the treadle 67, which the operator depresses to open the machine.` Itis, of course, necessary to lock the machine in open position and to accomplish this, Iprovide a rod 68 which is supported from thetable 3,'an`d which extends downwardly through bearings in the frame 59. Between Vthe bearings, I provide a collar 69, to which a flat spring-arm 70, is attached and which extends Vdownwardly through a slot '71k in the frame 59. The lowerend of the said spring-arm carries a locking-latch '72 which, as the frame 59 is being carried down by the slide 61, is forced outwardly and engages the upper side face of the flange 59' towards the end of the downward movement of the frame 59, and thus the machine is held in open position by the locking-latch 72. The lower end of the spring-arm '70 extends downwardly beyond the locking-latch 72, and is adapted to engage, under the influence of the rotation of the head of the machine, the cam 73 on the base of the machine, whereby the locking-latch 72 is moved back to release the frame 59 and the springs 18 which, in expanding, operate the machine. The bottom plan View of the shoe shown in Fig. 10 shows the upper in pulled over condition and as thus held by the lasting tacks 74, after the shoe has been removed from the machine; and the bottom plan view of the shoe shown in Fig. 11 shows the pulled over shoe with the toe part lasted by the wire 75, which also hold the upper and the box-toe in lasted condition.

The operation of the machine The operator depresses the treadle 67 to actuate the motive power driven means to open the machine and the insole having been tacked on the last and the upper assembled on the last with a tack at the heel-end passing through the upper and the counter, the operator mounts the shoe on the last-pin and by lifting the forepart of the shoe he forces the last-pin rearwardly against the influence of the spring 25, and he sets the forepart of th-e shoe upon the straining means; and, when pulling mens shoes, he then sets the hold-down on the bottom of the last as far forwardly as consistent with the shape of the shank part of the last. Then, with ordinary hand lasting pincers, he engages and pulls the toe-end of the upper to strain and draft the same lengthwise of the last from the heel-end to the toe-end and, while thus holding the upper in drafted condition, he rotates the head of the machine to move back the locking-latch '71, by the cam 73, on the base of the machine to thereby release the actuating springs 18. After the operation of the machine, the operator releases the toe-end of the upper and tacks it down on the insole.

At this stage of the pulling over operation, good practlcedictates inspection of the upper on the last and by my novelarrangement for movement of the-lasting means, the operator may avail himself of such inspection at this time by moving the lasting means with thev inverted last into a substantially reversed position (as shown in Fig. 3) to inspect the upper as to the proper position of the throat of the vamp relatively to the toe of the last and as to proper centralization of the upper proper on the forepart of the last; After returning the lasting means and the shoe into normal position, the operator may,v if need be, pull one side of the upper more strenuously than the opposite side to properly position on the forepart of the last the throat of the vamp or the vamp as a whole on the forepart of the last and thereafter he proceeds to complete the pulling over operation by pulling and fastening the upper at each side of the toe to the insole on the last. Then the pulled over shoe is inthe condition of the shoe shown in Fig. 10. y f

' The pulledover shoe then being in inverted position in the machine and the-initial part of the pulling over operation having been performed in the best possible manner, the performance of a toe lasting and wiping operation by hand upon shoes of the welt type is then possible.` In last-A ingand wiping the toe by hand, the operator rst anchors the toe wiping and binding wire around the tacksV 74, atone side of the last and then, with the free end of the wire around his left hand (which may be protected by a thick glove) he proceeds to last the toe step by step with ordinary lasting pincers, as in the usual manner of lasting by hand, while he Wipes and binds in the upper over the last with the wire until the opposite side tacks 74 are reached when he anchors the wire thereto and then breaks it off. Then the shoe is substantially in the condition of the shoe shown in Fig. 11.

Such a hand toe lasting and wiping operation may be performed, and has been successfully performed, upon mens shoes of the welt type, but is especially adapted to womens shoes o-f the welt and McKay types. Moreover, the side lasting operation upon any type of shoe may be advantageously performed while the shoe is in the machine.

The hold-down 39 is not absolutely necessary when operating upon womens shoes, as then the spring 25 by itself will move the forepart of the last with suftlcient force against the straining means 27.

In performing the initial part of the pulling over operation by a machine adapted to support a last in inverted position, such as herein shown, there is no need for providing motive power actuated grippers and tackers as the top of the vamp and the seam at the thoat ofthe vamp are then rmly set forwardly and downwardly on the forepart of the last, so that the operator may then with ordinary lasting pincers very easily and rapidly pull and tack the upper at the sides of the toe to complete the pulling over operation. Moreover, in pulling the sides by hand, the vamp at the corners of the toe never is overstrained-a common defective condition with pulling over machines provided with motive power actuated grippers.

It is to be appreciated that the adaptation of my invention is not limited to the exact construction of the machine herein shown. For instance, grippers may be positioned at the sides of the machine and may be substituted for the frictional straining means herein shown. The last-pin may be arranged for-longitudinal movement to thereby move the last to strain the'` upper lengthwise thereof while the forepart of the upper may be held against the straining movement lof the lastpin by any suitable lasting means rigidly secured to the frame vof the machine. Furthermore, the frictional straining means, herein shown,may be arranged for vertical upwardmovement instead of being arranged for oscillating movement, as herein shown.

In-the broadest aspect of the adaptation of my invention to a lasting machine adapted to perform the initial part of the pulling over operation and in which the upper is nally pulled Aand tacked by hand for the completion of the pulling over operation, the last may be supported bottom down tovpermit the operator to inspect the upper,`even during the time that the initial part of the pulling over operation is taking place, and thereafter the lasting means with the last may be moved into a substantially reversed position to permit the operator `to pull and tack the upper at the sides of the toe by hand for the completion 0f the pulling over operation.

vHaving thus explained the nature of my invention and shown the best form of lasting machine for its adaptation now to me known, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A machine of the character described, having,

the shoe upper straining means ,27, adapted to frictionally engage the top of the forepart of va shoe upper on a last, back of the toe, and adapted to strain the shoe upper lengthwise of the last; the last-supporting last-pin 19, adapted to positively support `the last in the machine; the heelband 37, adapted to compress the heelpart of the shoe upper against the last to rmly set the counter on the last; the spring 25, for forcing the 1astsupporting last-pin '19, towards the shoe upper straining means 27, to thereby force the last and the` shoe upper thereagainst; and the actuating springs 18, for actuating the shoe upper straining means 27, lengthwise of the last; the arm 29, pivoted at 30, to the arm 31; the arm 20, pivoted at 21, to the crank-arm`23; and the arm 41, pivoted at 43, to the post 44; to permit the operator to pivotally .oscillate the arm 41, to thereby move into a substantially reversed position, the shoe upper straining means 27, the last-supporting last-pin 19, and the heel-band 37, to bring to view the top of the shoe upper for inspection prior to the completion of the lasting operation; the lever 48, adapted to move the locking-bar 46, out of locking engagement with the notches 41' and 47', to permit pivoted oscillation of the arm 41, and the springs 51, for returning the arm 41, into normal operative position.

EUCLID I. LA CHAPELLE. 

